Hi all,
My wife (J2) just got an Employment Authorization Document and started working as a teacher of Italian a couple of days ago. She was given a W4 form to fill in, and I am now wondering how to do it in order to have the least taxes to pay.

She will not make much - about $700 quarterly, without any guarantee the courses will be activated every quarter. It translates to a theoretical yearly maximum of $2800 but likely it will be less.

My questions are as follows:
1. How to best fill in her W4? I know the general suggestion is to claim no allowance for the lower stipend of a married couple. Do you think it is the best choice even with such a small earning? Is it possible (or advisable) for her to ask no taxes to be withheld?

2. What is the wiser choice for the 2011 tax return (yes, I am looking a little bit forward... )? Is it better to file jointly (the sum of our revenues will be about $55000) or separately, or makes no difference?

3. We are planning to file the tax return jointly in 2010. In this case, can we file a separate tax return next year?

Thank you very very much for your help!!


Francesco

With an income so small, she can claim the MOST allowances allowed for foreign workers: MARRIED with TWO allowances.